Tomato and Peanut Chutney (Adapted from The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles)

Tomato Peanut ChutneyI have to tell you, while a brand of Indian cooking is coming of age, regional Indian cuisine, is still a bit of a hard sell. So, anytime I get a thumbs up response to Bengali flavors from the uninitiated, I have a mental woohoo moment. I still get that happy feeling when a get a note from someone who has read bought and enjoyed The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles, and this weekend I was super thrilled that people loved my tasting of the Tomato and Peanut Chutney.

The tomato is not a native to the Indian table, (this is true of even the North Indian table, where today it is difficult to picture a meal without tomatoes) and was brought to the Bengal by the Portuguese, the same people who were responsible for teaching us how to make chenna, so in essence, no Portuguese no rossogolla. Well, back to the tomato chutney, since Bengali were not initially sure what to do with this tart red fruit the Bengali tomato chutney was born.

Tomato Chutney_2_650Here is a collection of traditional style Bengali chutneys, now the recipe that I am sharing today is almost savory rather than sweet, which sets it apart for its more traditional counterpart. My intent when I created this recipe in concert with none other than my mother, was to create a condiment that could give ketchup a run for its money. Well, jokes aside this sweet and almost spicy condiment with crushed peanuts for crunch actually makes a very versatile condiment for anything from crispy pakoras to grilled chicken or fish.

Bengali Tomato Peanut ChutneyI first featured this recipe for the Bengali Five Spice Chronicles, here is the original version, I have actually varied today’s version to cook it down further to be able to use up more of the wonderful summer tomatoes that we have been getting. I am blogging this at the bequest of a reader who sampled this at the Bronxville Farmer’s Market. Now, if you are bored of oven roasting your tomatoes, give this recipe a try. It keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 4 months.

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Tomato and Peanut Chutney (Adapted from The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: Makes about 11/4 cup of chutney

A sweet and savory tomato and peanut chutney with Bengali seasonings.

Ingredients

  • 6 medium sized tomatoes (about 11/4 pounds)
  • 11/2 tablespoons mustard oil
  • 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 11/2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon red cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
  • 1/4 cup coarsely ground, raw, unsalted peanuts

Instructions

  1. Coarsely chop the tomatoes and set aside.
  2. Heat the mustard oil and add in the mustard seeds and fennel seeds and wait until the seeds begin to sizzle. Add in the ginger and saute lightly.
  3. Add in the tomatoes and add in the sugar, salt and red cayenne pepper and cook the mixture on medium to low heat stirring occasionally until the mixture softens and thickens. You can mash down the tomatoes while cooking. I like a chunky texture for this condiment and this is what you well get, if you want a very smooth texture, you can run it through a blender.
  4. Add in the peanuts and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
  5. Cool and store in a clean dry jar and use as needed.

Notes

If you do not have mustard oil, you can substitute this for any neutral tasting oil such as grapeseed or canolla oil.

https://spicechronicles.com/tomato-and-peanut-chutney-adapted-from-the-bengali-five-spice-chronicles/

5 Comments

  • Pamela

    Instead of canola oil, would sesame oil be too much. I live in Japan and I can get sesame oil easily. Of course, I can get canola oil, but I was just wondering if sesame oil could be used as we like it.

    By the way, I have your Bengali cookbook: Bengali Five Spice Chronicles which I am reading cover to cover! I am studying all aspects of Indian cooking. I am new to Indian cooking and I am so interested in the different regional variations.

    I am going to have to look for mustard oil, there is a large Indian community in Kobe Japan. They may have mustard oil,there.

    • rinkub@aol.com

      Pamela,

      Sesame oil might offer an interesting taste to this particular recipe, but I would not recommend it for all the other recipes where I suggest mustard oil. You can try canola with just a hint of wasabi to allow for flavor. Thank you for getting the book, I would love to hear what you think of it.

  • Pamela

    Also, I forgot to mention that ketchup seems to originally come from Indonesian cooking. They have something like ketchup there. I am not sure if the original is made with that new world vegetable, tomatoes. Most likely, the original is much more spicy and peppery.

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